Two struggling Metropolitan Division rivals will try to turn things around when the Pittsburgh Penguins visit the Columbus Blue Jackets on Friday.
The Blue Jackets are tied for the fewest points (12) in the NHL, though the Penguins are not on a much better pace. Columbus has played only 15 games, while the Penguins have 15 points through 18 games.
Mired in a six-game (0-5-1) winless drought, the Jackets’ most recent defeat was a 5-2 loss to the Seattle Kraken on Tuesday. Columbus took a 2-0 lead into the first intermission, but the strong start was erased by four Kraken goals in the second period.
“It seems like for the last string of games, we’re just taking one period off,” Jackets forward Zach Aston-Reese said. “It’s just these one-period lapses where we give up like five or six odd-man rushes, couple of grade-A (scoring chances), and we just shoot ourselves in the foot.”
The 0-4-1 road trip dropped the Jackets to 1-5-2 in away games this season. Friday’s return to Columbus could be beneficial, as the Blue Jackets have a 4-3-0 home record this season.
Neither locale has been much help to the Blue Jackets in their very lopsided rivalry with the Penguins. Dating back to the 2015-16 season, Pittsburgh is 23-4-4 against the Jackets, including an ongoing 13-game (11-0-2) points streak.
Head-to-head history notwithstanding, this season’s Penguins have looked anything but dominant. Pittsburgh had an 0-5-1 streak of its own in October, and the club is 1-2-2 in its last five games.
Every point is crucial as the Penguins try to climb out of this early-season hole, so forward Bryan Rust saw Wednesday’s 3-2 overtime loss to the Detroit Red Wings as “a good step” for his struggling team. Detroit held a 2-0 lead in the second period before the Penguins equalized and eventually forced overtime.
“The way we responded (when) we went down two was a hell of a lot better than the way we responded the other night,” Rust said, referencing Monday’s 7-1 loss to the Dallas Stars. “Rome wasn’t built in a day. We’re trying get this thing going in the right direction as fast we can.”
Pittsburgh forward Blake Lizotte is questionable for Friday’s lineup following an early exit against the Red Wings. Lizotte didn’t return to the ice after he was bloodied from a puck to the face during the first period.
Evgeni Malkin leads the Penguins with 18 points (five goals, 13 assists), while Sidney Crosby is right behind with 17 points (six goals, 11 assists). Crosby is two goals away from becoming the 21st NHL player with at least 600 career goals.
Kirill Marchenko leads the Blue Jackets with 15 points (six goals, nine assists).
Since the Jackets also play Saturday in Montreal against the Canadiens, goaltenders Elvis Merzlikins and Daniil Tarasov figure to split the consecutive starts in some order.
The Penguins also play on Saturday at home against the San Jose Sharks, which likely means rotating starts between Alex Nedeljkovic and Tristan Jarry over the back-to-back games. Jarry was just recalled from a conditioning stint in the AHL after the goalie posted a garish 5.47 goals-against average in his first three NHL starts this season.
